For a more reasonable way to enjoy the same basic flavors, I think this pork tenderloin version is a nice alternative. As I say in the video, pork tenderloin is lean, very easy to cook (as long as you can get past those ridiculous fears about slightly pink pork), and the sauce takes about two minutes to prep.

By the way, this is not simply fake Chinese food; it's actually fake, fake Chinese food. The aforementioned death nuggets we call sweet and sour pork are not even remotely close to any kind of authentic sweet and sour preparation in real Chinese cuisine. Or at least that’s what I heard Anthony Bourdain say one time. Now that's research.

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this plate of florescent food, and if you're a fan of the Chinese take-out version, I believe you will too. Also, I would suggest tossing in some green onions (the white parts) along with the garlic, and save the green tops to garnish with as I did with the chives. Enjoy!

Chef John you can never give us too many faux faux Asain recipes. I know I will make this a thousand times. I still make Spicy Orange Chicken and Caramel Chicken quite frequently. Am interested to hear your response about acid in cast iron... I had never considered this before.

Hi John -- love your blog! This recipe, like all of your recipes, looks great. I just have one quick question about it. My girlfriend isn't a big fan of cooked fruits. Is there something (perhaps a veggie) that you'd suggest I can a substitute for the cooked pineapple? Many thanks!

Chef John,Can't wait to try this recipe! It looks fabulous. One question, because my husband and I are having a disagreement...when you flatten the cut pieces, do you "stand" them on end and flatten from the end grain, or just cut them and flatten from the "top" of the tenderloin? I think I'm going to win this one! :-)Thank you!!

@André: Monosodium glutamate (Mandarin: 味精 literally: essence of flavor) is omnipresent in China. While not necessary everywhere to be found, chances are quite high it will be added someway or another.

Also, in my opinion and apparently in the opinion the matter of authenticity stands to debate, while there may be one single precursor of a certain dish, assuming it has and always was prepared a specific way would be a bit vague. The thing that would cause Chinese to raise an eyebrow would probably be the fact that the meat isn't sliced up in small, chopstick-compatible chunks.

This was so good! My whole family (including my sometimes picky eater children) like it! I doubled the pineapple and added some onion, yellow and orange peppers. the tenderloin really makes this great! thanks

I made this tonight and it turned out great. I can only handle a little bit of heat but I did tell my husband that he could put some red pepper flakes on after it. He said it came out perfect. This def will be included in our menu from now on.

Chef John.....you've been an inspiration. I'm a registered nurse and cooking had been my stress relief. Love to try out new stuff and was so happy to run into your website just a month ago and had not stopped following your recipes. I like to modify some of them but this pork recipe is a keeper, just perfect, did not give up looking for the sambal chili till i found one.. everyone should have one in the kitchen.

LOL This is quite weird to me here, I'm living in Asia and we never use Tenderlion... And the sauce is always sticky and VERY sour/VERY sweet. Although i tried this and it gave a different taste, it is nothing like the original Sweet and Sour pork! Still, good job in making it your own twist Chef John! Cheers!

I made this tonight for dinner and it was excellent! I was extremely heavy handed with the chili paste and it was such a nice contrast with the pineapple chucks. The "Chinese Food" in my neighborhood is so bad and I have been very deprived, now I get to Chinese-ish food again! Thanks, for this great recipe!

My fiancé and I have been looking for a new creative way to use pork chops and this was it!! We made this together last night and it was absolutely perfect! Just the right amount of sweet and spice and everything nice. We followed the exact receipt. Thank you chef John! Keep the videos coming!